DA 2010 Episode 4: Want it to be Over
by AngelExposed
Summary: Kitty has to go back to Illinois when tragedy strikes, and she takes Remy for support. While there, she begins to learn how bad Remy's life is (finished R&R)
1. Chapter 1: Bad News

Dismal Angel 2010 - Episode 4

Chapter 1:  Bad News

             Remy LeBeau rolled over in bed, he'd been drifting in and out of sleep all night, but this time it hadn't been his troubled dreams that had awoken him.  This time, it was something very real.  He lay on his side and tried to understand what had stirred him, he glanced around the room, in the darkness all he could make out was the shapes of the lavish furniture in the guest room.  

             Then he heard it, the phone was ringing, quite loudly.  It sounded as if it were directly in the hall.  He waited, listening, hoping to god someone was going to pick it up, but the ringing continued for some time, persistent as ever, intent on an answer, and he realised much to his own dismay he was probably the only person awake to answer it. 

             With a sigh and a string of swear words, he pulled himself out of the bed, pulling on the nearest item of clothing he could find – a pair of black pants – and he made his way through the room in the dark to find the door, and he spilled out into the hall in a tired stagger, the ringing growing louder as he approached the phone.

             The east wing of the mansion was silent, but this wasn't very unusual as the third floor of the east wing was generally unused by the mansions inhabitants, the west wing being the place where the students dorms were located, and the second floor of the east wing belonging to the X-Men.  

             The corridor was dimly lit, but well enough to locate the marble-effect telephone sitting on a small end table next to an exquisite bench with blue satin cushioning.  Remy picked up the phone, "Xavier institute," he snapped, he glanced at a nearby clock on the opposing wall, it was almost three am.  Angrily he pondered who would be calling at such an absurd hour.

             "I'm looking for Katherine Pryde," came a voice, definitely one Remy had never heard before.

             Remy leaned against the wall, scratched the back of his head, he let out a yawn, "it's nearly three am – she's sleeping, like everyone else in the mansion," he said coldly, he rolled his eyes at whoever was on the line, how stupid could someone be to be calling at this time?  

             "Can you please wake her, its important," the voice became even more urgent than before, and left Remy slightly agitated at the tone of insistence within it.

             Despite the woman on the other end had used the word pleased, Remy really had no intentions of going out of his way to wake Kitty up in the wee-small hours of the morning, "can't it wait?" he asked with another yawn, the only thing he could think about was getting back to bed as the need for sleep overwhelmed him once again.

             "No, I can't," the woman suddenly became quite harsh, "can you please just get Katherine and put her on."

             Remy frowned and swore mentally, "fine, hold on…" he muttered, he put the receiver on the table next to its cradle and he headed towards the small stairwell down to the second floor, his bare feet padding softly against the plus carpet.  He wasn't sure how he expected to find Kitty's room, he hadn't even been in the second floor of the east wing before, and had no clue where Kitty's room was located.  Luckily, her name was on the door on a small plastic panel.  K. Pryde. 

             Remy didn't knock, he simply opened the door and peered in.  As he opened the door wider, light spilled in from the hallway.  Kitty was sprawled over the bed, her feet hanging out from under the covers, her head resting on her arms as she lay on her belly.  Eyes closed lightly, she looked so peaceful it almost seemed like a crime to wake her.

             "Kitty," Remy said loudly.

             Kitty didn't stir.

             "KITTY," Remy said a little louder, his voice quite impatient.

             No response, Kitty seemed to be sleeping far too deeply.  He moved over, placed a hand upon her shoulder and shook her hard.

             "KITTY."

             Kitty gave a murmur, "hmm?" she asked half asleep.

             Remy sighed, "Phone call for you…"

             Kitty groaned, "tell them to call back tomorrow," she rolled over pulling a pillow over her head.

             "I did but she said its important," Remy headed for the door, "sounded quite upset actually," he said.

             Kitty sighed and sat up, phasing through the pillow rather than removing it from over her head, "who is it?" she swept her bangs back from her face, her short brown hair was sticking out at all kinds of strange angles.

             "I didn't catch the name," Remy scratched his shoulder absently.

             "What phone?" Kitty asked, knowing full well there were more than ten separate phone lines in the mansion.  She rubbed her eyes, threw her legs over the side of the bed and stepped into her slippers.

             "Third floor," Remy said, "no one else seemed to hear it," he added as he tried to stifle a yawn, he led the way out of the room, towards the stairwell and up into the third floor hallway.

             Kitty gave a yawn too, "people sleep deep in this place," she stated tiredly, stumbling her way after him in the hallway.

             Remy gestured to the phone, "there ya go, goodnight," he sighed and headed towards his room, slamming the door shut impudently, and had to remind himself sheepishly afterward, he wasn't twelve anymore and couldn't get away with such immaturity.  

             He lay on the bed wary, closing his eyes and not even bothering to pull the covers over himself, he could hear Kitty's talking out in the hall, he listened carefully but could barely make out nothing more than the occasional word.  Eventually all went silent, and he relaxed once again – knowing that with the sound now vanquished from the mansion, he'd once again sleep.

             And then, when he'd least expected it, the door opened, Kitty was standing there, silhouetted against the dim light, her voice sounded strange when she said his name, "Remy?  You still awake?"

             "Yeah," Remy forced back a sigh, "what is it?" he asked, his voice didn't hide the frustration of lack of sleep.

             Kitty leaned against the doorway, "My, uhm…cousin Lucy just called me…I need to go to Illinois…" she said softly, her voice sounding almost on the verge of being close to sobs, "tonight."

             Remy sat up straight, the mention of Illinois somehow intrigued him, "why?" he asked curiously, flicking his very long brown hair back from his shoulder.

             Kitty stepped in slowly, "I…uhm…" as she stepped in closer, her tears shone in the light reflecting from the hall onto a mirror on the wall, and Remy could clearly see she'd been crying, "My parents…there was a fire at their house…" she said, sounding quite choked up.

             Remy looked at her, "a fire…are they alright?" he asked, he reached over and switched on the light, but he should have known by the look on her face that her parents were not alright, she hugged herself insecurely, looking away.  He wondered why she was telling him this, was it because he was the only one awake and she needed someone to turn to?  Or was it because she needed something of him?

             "I…uhm…" Kitty sniffed.   Despite her faltering, Remy felt she was doing incredibly well at keeping together, but he could see any moment, she was about to break down, as if realisation hadn't quite hit her yet, but was about to.  Just as she broke down into collapsing point, he rushed to catch her, her sobs loud, her tears oozing onto his bare shoulder.

             He waited until her sobs died down, and the tears weren't quite as potent, and finally the room seemed to fall into a silence as he held her.  He'd never been good at comforting women, and the only way he knew how to properly hold any woman was in a loving embrace.  So it felt strange to try and comfort Kitty and finding himself wondering if he were going about it the right way.  

             Finally, Remy felt he had to speak, "you're leaving tonight?" he asked, rubbing her back awkwardly, hoping it was doing something to sooth her.

             "Yeah," Kitty sniffed, a half sob escaping, her breathing irregular and her body trembling with emotion.  

             Remy took a few minutes, "where'll you stay?"

             "My older cousin and her fiancé said I can stay with them…but…we never really got alone, I'll probably just check into a hotel," Kitty moved back, drying her face with the back of her pyjama sleeve, her eyes were now puffy and red, she was still shaking.

             "If you like…you can take my Illinois apartment for as long as you need," Remy stated, "it's not very luxurious or comfortable, but…its there…"  
             Kitty looked at him, "will you come with me…?" she asked quietly, she looked so distraught he wouldn't have been able to say no even if he wanted to.  "Please?" she added tentatively.

             "I…uhm…course, course I'll come," he sighed, he looked at her and tried to put on his most sympathetic expression, "when do you need to leave?"

             "As soon as possible," Kitty dabbed at the corners of her eyes with the sleeve of her pyjama top, sniffling still, "like an hour.  Is that alright?"

             "Fine, its…fine…" Remy felt almost as if he'd been roped into it, but…he couldn't deny her his company on this, she'd asked him, not Rogue, that had to mean something.  And also, she was the only friend he had – the only one he could trust.  Besides, he had some business to take care of in Illinois – and this would give him just the excuse he needed to leave the mansion and deal with this obligation of his.  

             Kitty pulled herself up, tears still trickling, "I better go get some stuff together…" she left the room before more tears came, although Remy was almost sure he heard a sob from outside in the hall.  

             With nothing more than a sigh, he began to dress.


	2. Chapter 2: Remy's Apartment

Dismal Angel 2010 - Episode 4

Chapter 2:  Remy's Apartment

             The apartment Remy had mentioned to Kitty was nothing she had expected it to be, in fact, the building seemed almost derelict and Kitty decided the dirt and grime was probably the only thing holding the place together.   The main foyer of the building seemed as if it hadn't been cleaned by any maintenance staff in years, and someone had piled up old car parts in a corner near an apartment door, and there was oil smeared on one of the walls.

             Kitty made a face as she followed Remy up a staircase with a rickety iron wrought banister.  It was strange how suddenly she realised how lucky she was to be living in a mansion while people lived in a slum such as this.  "How long have you lived here?" Kitty asked quietly as they started up a second staircase, she held her breath as the stench of – what could only be defined as similar to – seemed to overpower her, she pursed her lips together tight, following him at a quicker pace.

             "On and off about six months," Remy responded, he stopped at a door, it was painted blue, although the paint was peeling and the wood had splintered in some places.  A yellow post-it note was stuck onto the door, scrawled in crude black marker.  "Fuck," Remy muttered under his breath, he yanked the note off the door and crumpled it up, tossing it over the railing overlooking the second floor stairwell.

"Something wrong?" Kitty asked, watching the note disappear.

"Nothin' serious," Remy assured, "Just stupid landlord, I paid him in advance for three months about a month and a half ago…" he rolled his eyes, "old fart is losin' his marbles," he replied, a slight amused smirk on his handsome face.

Kitty hugged herself against the chill in the stairwell, "this place is pretty shady, Remy… and this hallway really stinks."

"That's probably cats piss," Remy rolled his eyes, "this old dingbat lives across the hall from me, has five cats, she can barely take care of herself let alone the stupid cats," Remy reached up to the top of the high door frame, locating a key hidden there, he pulled it down, shoved it into the lock, wiggled it and with some effort, the door opened.  Remy stepped in, dropping Kitty's holdall bag to a spot aside the doorway.  Kitty followed him in tentatively. 

             It was morning, and bright light shone through curtain-less windows in a very small living room that hadn't seen a lick of paint or fresh wallpaper in what seemed like a decade.  The top of the wallpaper was peeling and revealed several patches of damp wall slightly cracked and crumbling beneath.  Against one wall a very old leather couch – worn and slightly coming apart – was set beside a small crate that was being used as an end table to hold up a lamp.  Against the opposing wall was a stack of boxes with company brands.  DVD players, VCRs, Digital Camcorders, Kitty even spotted two boxes for Flatscreen Monitors for computers.

             "What's all this?" Kitty asked, fearful she already knew – stolen property.

             "Merchandise, gotta pay for livin' somehow, nothin' in life is free anymore, petit," Remy walked over to the windows and opened them to let some air into the stale apartment.  "Told you it wasn't exactly luxurious here."  
             "No…its fine," Kitty feigned a smile, she glanced into another nearby room which seemed to be a bedroom, a bed was in two pieces, the frame standing up against the wall at its full height, the mattress resting against the wall nearby.  Lining the other wall were what looked like paintings, covered in dust sheets.  Newspapers were strewn across the floor, several articles highlighted and circled out, photographs of artefacts spread out almost ritualistically.  

             Remy noticed her expression, "don't worry, I'll put the bed together," he assured, "you can take the bedroom, I'll crash on the couch."

             Kitty felt like crying again, being in this dingy apartment, an hour away from her old house in the suburbs – which was now burnt to cinders – and now completely orphaned.  

             Remy watched her for some moments as she surveyed the bedroom full of covered paintings, he walked over, "I need to go speak with the landlord…" he put his hand on her shoulder, "will you be alright while I'm away?"

             Kitty gave a vague nod, she didn't look to him, she was too busy dwelling on how different her life would be now that she was orphaned.  It felt almost like she were five years old and couldn't be without her parents, not a twenty-something young woman as independent as she liked to make out she was.  

             Remy headed towards the door, "by the way…" he said, "did you leave a note for the others to tell them where were going?"

             Kitty nodded, once again, quite vague, she stared into space.

             Remy didn't respond to this, he left the apartment silently, and when he did, Kitty slipped into more tears.

             Rogue walked into the bedroom of Kitty Pryde hoping to find her friend, who for the first time in what seemed like an eternity, had not come down to Breakfast promptly.  In fact, Rogue had found it odd Kitty had not shown up for the early danger room practice.  But after all, it had been an optional training session, perhaps she'd chosen to sleep in.

             Kitty's bed – which was always made immaculately whenever she wasn't in it – lay with half of the covers on the floor, no sign of Kitty.  A few items of clothing, and a pair of pyjamas had been discarded in a careless fashion across the room in a way that was so unlike Kitty.  The closet door hung carelessly open.  

             Rogue headed over to the en-suite bathroom, with still no luck finding her friend, it was strange, she'd been all over the mansion twice this morning doing various errands and hadn't spotted her.  

             Rogue was about to leave the room when a message caught her eye.  It had been written in pink lipstick across the large cheval mirror.  The words scrawled in a careless and almost hurried fashion.  "Gone to Illinois with Remy.  XXX Kitty," Rogue read out, a frown building on her face.

             It now struck her as very odd.  Why would Kitty want to run off with Remy to Illinois?  She drew her breath, "why…?" she asked herself quietly, just as she heard someone enter the room behind her, and turned to find Jean Grey there.

             "Myself and the Professor can't locate Kitty or Remy's presences anywhere in Bayville," Jean said quickly, looking worried, she did not notice the message scrawled over the mirror.

             "They've gone to Illinois," Rogue sighed, heading for the door, "together."

             "Together?  That's odd…Remy knows he isn't meant to leave the Mansion until the Professor has his criminal record cleared, he's still wanted for murder," Jean pointed out as she followed.

             "Since when has anything stopped Gambit from doing what he wants?" Rogue queried, tossing her hair over her shoulder, "why is Kitty with him though?  I don't get it…"

             "It can't be a mission," Jean frowned, still staying in tow, "the professor would have told me straight away…"

             Rogue shook her head, "its probably some kind of stupid sex thing," she rolled her eyes.

             "Don't be stupid, Kitty and Remy?" Jean laughed, her eyes twinkling, "they're the most unlikely pair you'd ever expect to get together."

             "Yeah, people said that about me and Remy once too, Jean," Rogue sighed, "but whatever, maybe we'll get lucky and he won't come back when she does…"

             Hank McCoy came bounding up the stairs just as Jean and Rogue were approaching.

             "Whoah, what was that rule about runnin' in the mansion, Hank?" Rogue stopped him.

             "I'm missing two more spiders," Hank puffed, "I went in to my lab and the tank was open and they were gone – I'm such a moron, I must have left it open!" he rushed by, "if you see them let me know!" he disappeared down the hall to look for the spiders.

             "What is it with those spiders?" Rogue rolled her eyes, "they can only jump, they'll probably die soon enough anyway," she said as she and Jean headed down the stairway together.

             "Well, those are the last two from his experiment," Jean explained, "when they escape, they REALLY escape."

             Rogue nodded, "Yeah, he let one out when I went down there to see him, don't think he caught it again."

             "It's probably somewhere," Jean shrugged.

             "What's the big deal about this experiment anyway?" Rogue asked, "what's the point of mutating a few spiders?"

             "It's not so much the mutating them as the un-mutating them," Jean explained, "there may be a way to do it, providing of course poor Hank finds the spiders again," she explained.

             "Unmutating…so he could change the DNA in an already mutated creature?" Rogue looked, she felt her hope building for just a moment that perhaps this research might one day lead to her solution to her powers.

             "Don't get your hopes up," Jean said, "He's a long way from successfully doing it…" she explained, "and if he doesn't find those spiders, his research will be set back five months."

             Rogue made a face, "typical."

             Kitty had finally managed to pull herself together, tears ran dry after an hours worth of them, and emptiness filled her.  She called her cousin Lucy and arranged to meet her in town in the afternoon to make arrangements for the funeral of her parents.  Everything seemed to be happening so fast already Kitty could barely keep up with anything.

             There was a small fourteen inch television in the corner, and Kitty tried switching it on, however it seemed the electricity was out.  She sighed disdainfully wondering why she had let Remy talk her into coming to stay in this vile apartment.  She wondered how a man such as Remy could even reside in such a place – even if it was just for business purposes.  

             Kitty found the small kitchen and glanced in the fridge, things were smelling bad, milk had gone sour, and meat had been left unpackaged too long.  Kitty made a face and shut the fridge in disgust, she'd let Remy clean out his own fridge later.  

             Feeling the beginnings of what was sure to be a very bad headache, Kitty began to search for some kind of painkiller, realising she'd forgotten to bring any in her haste to get packed and back to Illinois as soon as possible.  She located the bathroom -  a small square room tiled completely in white.  It seemed to be the cleanest room in the apartment.  There was a small cabinet above the sink, a cracked and soap-splattered mirror as its door.  Kitty pulled the door of the cabinet open just a little, as she did, a corner chunk of the broken mirror fell into the sink, crashing loudly against the porcelain.  She winced, and stared at her own distorted reflection.  

             She looked a mess, her face tearstained, eyes swollen, nose slightly red and runny.  The pain of her headache was increasing rapidly.  With a sigh, she pulled the door open the rest of the way hoping it wouldn't break anymore of the rest of the mirror that seemed to cling precariously to the door, and glanced inside.  No sign of painkillers, just an impressive display of various depression medications, some she recognised, some she didn't.  

             "Jesus," she whispered to herself, "how long has he been dealing with this?" she wondered aloud, she closed the door with a sigh, her reflection staring back at her, a darkened shadow behind her, she jumped and screamed, spinning around.  It was Remy, he seemed slightly startled at her response.

             "Jus' me," he assured, holding his hands up as if in defence, "you alright?"

             "You scared the fucking shit out of me," Kitty put her hand to her chest, her heart was thudding hard, although she felt this was an improvement, as since the news of her parents death, it felt as if it hadn't been beating at all.

             Remy shrugged, "sorry…" he said, "didn't you hear me come in?"

             "No…" Kitty admitted, "you've been gone for like an hour and a half, where've you been?"

             "I had to chase the landlord half way across the city…long story," he admitted, "what've you been up to while I've been gone – and why are you nosing in my cabinet?"

             "I was looking for painkillers," Kitty sighed, "I have a splitting headache," she rubbed her temples furiously, squinting slightly in pain.

             Remy walked over and opened the cabinet, peering in with a knowing eye, as if he had every prescription well memorised and knew exactly what he was looking for, he pulled a bottle out, "take one of these," he said, "they're for back pain, but I've used them for headaches and they've worked," he held them out to her.

             "Isn't that kind of dangerous giving someone else your prescription?" Kitty queried.

             "They're just co-codemol," Remy responded, "they're not that strong…trust me, the stronger stuff would have you drugged up to the eyeballs like a junkie on amphetamines," he closed the cabinet.

             "You still have back problems?" Kitty looked at him concernedly.

             Remy shrugged, "every now and then I get a twinge…I deal with it.  How're you holdin' up apart from the headache?" he asked, leading the way out of the bathroom, and heading for the kitchen to get her some water.

             Kitty felt like pointing out the obvious that she was feeling as if her life was over, she chose to keep her words to herself though, "I called my cousin, she's meeting me in town to help me arrange the funeral."

             Remy retrieved a glass of water, thankful the water hadn't been turned off as he'd discovered the electricity had been, "how come you didn't wanna stay with her?" Remy asked as he handed her the glass.

             Kitty took two pills from the bottle and swallowed them hastily, "she's a nasty bitch, that's why," Kitty sighed, "mom adores – I mean…adored – her…" she admitted sheepishly, "owns her own house, fancy car, she's a partner in a law firm, she has, like, the perfect man – the kinda guy you wanna take home to mom," Kitty rolled her eyes, "You can only imagine."

             "I thought your parents were proud of you," Remy opened the fridge, glanced in momentarily, noticed the smell and shut it rather quickly.

             "They were, but they always wanted me to be more like her, y'know…" Kitty sighed, "anyway, I guess its not worth worryin' about anymore, after all…I won't have to live up to anyone's expectations anymore…" Kitty looked to the floor, a tear trickling down her cheek.

             Remy put his hand under her chin and raised her head so she looked at him, "if they had those kind of expectations, they only wanted you to be happy," he reminded, "when a parent has nothin' to gain from their expectation's of you, Petit, then its real love."

             Kitty nodded, but seemed unconvinced.

             "Lemme clean up that bedroom, get the bed down for you, then I'll get the electricity problem sorted out," Remy put on a smile just for her, and went to take care of the things he'd promised.


	3. Chapter 3: Kitty versus the Cat Lady

Dismal Angel 2010 - Episode 4

Chapter 3:  Kitty versus the Cat Lady

Kitty gave a sigh as she entered the old building Remy's apartment was in.  She felt so emotionally and physically drained that she could fall asleep at any moment.  In the hall, she could hear someone's music blasting, and she winced as it seemed to echo off of the walls.  She headed up the staircase, holding onto the banister, and yanking her hand back when it began to shake violently, and a soft cracking sound seemed to indicate that some part of it had broken.  

She asked herself incredulously why was Remy staying in some place like this.  He wasn't exactly poor, and could afford much better.  Somewhere more hygienic and more freshly scented, she decided as she approached the second floor.

An old woman was standing on the landing, holding a very large fat grey tabby cat in her arms, the cats icy blue eyes focused on Kitty and narrowed a little and the cat let out a fierce hiss, its mouth drawing back revealing its sharp teeth.  Kitty jumped back a little.

"You don't live here…" the woman, who had tangled wiry grey hair jutting out from under an old woollen hat, her lips pursed as if in disgust of Kitty's presence.

Kitty approached the door to Remy's apartment, taking the spare key out of her pocket.  She'd asked why he should bother giving her the key, since her powers allowed her to walk through walls, using a key was a waste of time.  Remy had insisted, saying that the neighbours were queer, and didn't like 'strange folk'.  Kitty assumed he meant mutants.

"I'm staying with a friend," Kitty remained calm, she put the key through the lock and tried to turn it, but the lock was stiff, and refused to do so.

"That man is no good," the cat woman replied, sounding rather like a cat in the way she hissed the words, "all kinds of strange sounds comin' from in there…probably dealing drugs or pimping the number of young girls you see go in to that place – probably a brothel!" her dull grey eyes narrowed as if in anger, "prostitution is a crime, you know," she uttered at Kitty, then, promptly stepped through the open doorway at her back and slammed the door behind herself sharply.

Kitty's mouth dropped, she wasn't sure if the woman had just accused her of prostitution or not, and she wasn't sure what made her snap – perhaps the emotion that was still welling up within her that her parents had recently died and she needed an outlet for her own anger.  Whatever the answer to her frustration was, she headed over to the woman's door, leaving the key sticking out of the lock of Remy's door, and she banged her fist upon it.

The door opened a crack, a chain lock preventing it from opening anymore, the old woman peered from between the door that hung slightly ajar, the cat seemed to peer out also, looking rather protective of its owner.

"Who the fuck do you think you're talking to?" Kitty demanded abrasively, "I'm not a prostitute, and I'd just like to point out instead of worryin' about what the man I'm living with is doing in that apartment, why don't you clean your damn apartment up, you've got this whole fucking building smelling like a fucking toilet!" Kitty yelled, she felt a hand soft on her arm, she turned and saw Remy looking distinctly aloof with a pair of sunglasses hiding his eyes, he'd obviously just arrived.

"You ought to get that little slut told, you kids think you can treat anyone the way you want!" the woman yelled out at Remy.

Remy didn't respond, he simply grabbed the doorknob of the old woman's door and yanked it so the door shut rather loudly, then he headed over to the door of his own apartment and managed to open it with a quick twist of the key Kitty had left sticking out of the lock, "don't mess with the neighbours," he said as they both entered the apartment, he shut the door behind Kitty.

"She called you a pimp!" Kitty was fuming, she wrung her hands out in annoyance.

"Old bitch calls me a lot of things," Remy said nonchalantly, he reached to a light switch on a nearby, the lights flicked on, he nodded to himself as in satisfaction, "I could recite a whole list of the things she's called me," he added, "pimp, drug dealer, junkie, rent boy…" he listed absently.

"Rent boy?" Kitty raised an eyebrow, "Why does she call you that?" she asked, still feeling rather indignant about the way she'd been treated by the old woman in the hall.

"Basically because she's seen a lot of male clients come into the apartment – collecting the stuff I stole," he explained, and crossed the room while he pulled the sunglasses off.  

Kitty noted he'd changed clothes, now, he was wearing the oldest looking trenchcoat she'd ever seen in her life, it was brown, dirty, and slightly threadbare in places, the elbow had been patched, and a few places on the back of the coat had been sewn carelessly.  

"Where the hell did you get that old thing?" Kitty queried, making a face of disgust.

"Was my fathers," Remy responded, "kinda grown attached to it."

"It looks older than you are," Kitty folded her arms.

"It is," Remy assured, he turned towards her, under the coat she could see he was wearing ripped jeans, and a plain black t-shirt, he had a grocery bag under his arm she'd failed to notice earlier, "listen, don't talk with the neighbours, if they find out I'm a mutant, I'll be kicked out and I don't have an emergency dwelling to keep this stuff," he pointed towards the stacks of boxes filled with 'merchandise' as he'd called it.  

Kitty sat down on the couch, rubbing her temples.

"Headache back?" Remy asked, he glanced at the clock, it had been six hours since Kitty had ventured out of the apartment to deal with arranging her parents funeral.  

Kitty sighed, "yes…I…god," she shook her head, "I want this all to be over," she let out a sob.

Remy dropped the grocery bag on the floor by him, yanked off his trenchcoat, and tossed it so that it was sitting on the windowsill, he sat beside her, "it will be…soon."

Kitty put her hands to her face, "why didn't I go when she asked…"

Remy knew what Kitty meant, only nights ago he'd stumbled into the recreation room while Kitty had been on the phone with her mother who had been begging Kitty to visit.  "You didn't know any better, Petit.  Besides, if you'd gone…you might have died with them."

Kitty looked at Remy through teary eyes, he looked tired, and distant, more detached than she was used to seeing him, she found herself wondering if this was really how he always was, or if it was the pills he'd been taking.  "Are you okay?  You sound weird…" Kitty tried to quickly wipe her tears on the sleeve of her dark blue denim jacket.

"I'm fine, worry bout yourself," Remy patted her shoulder and got up, "How did the meeting with your cousin go?"

Kitty sighed, "Hadn't seen her in two years, she's pregnant.  Go figure," Kitty rolled her eyes, "she made all the arrangements, I felt like I didn't have a say in anything…" more tears came and she wiped them away quickly, she'd cried during most of the time in the funeral directors when they'd been going through all the arrangements.

"You should have stood your ground," Remy picked up the bag of groceries and headed off into the kitchen, Kitty got up and followed, "did you call the mansion and let them know you're okay?" he asked.

"No," Kitty sighed, "I don't really feel like talking to them all right now…they'll be full of that overly-sympathetic nature that'll just make me cry even more…at least you're not givin' me that shit," she admitted with another sigh, she watched him unloading the groceries from the bag, it seemed strange to be watching him do so, she'd never pictured Remy as a domestic type of man.  Grocery shopping?  She'd expected the only time she'd see him go to a grocery store was if he was out of cigarettes and beer.

"You need your friends at a time like this, petit," Remy lit himself a cigarette, and it dangled from his mouth as he opened the fridge and began to put things away, including a six pack of cheap beer.

Kitty gave a shrug, hugging herself, she felt her eyes well up again, but forced the tears back and tried to quickly change the subject, "what's with your hair?" she sniffed.

Remy paused, then turned to her, his expression blank, "what's wrong with my hair?"

"Its too long, that's what's wrong with it," Kitty responded, "you could donate that to charity and some poor person with cancer could have a wig out of that," she added thoughtfully.

"My hair is fine," Remy assured, he flicked his cigarette ash out the open window, "You reminded me of Rogue just now," he admitted after a time, "she always had something to complain about…somethin' she wanted me to change about myself…smokin'…hair…goatee," he scratched his chin thoughtfully, he hadn't shaven in a few days but he no longer maintained a goatee.  

Kitty knew only too well what he was talking about, she had experienced similar things with her parents, "yeah, my parents were that way," she sighed, "grow your hair long, and always wear it back, always wear a sweater, always date a man with money, don't get a tattoo," she rolled her eyes, "they had a heartattack when I cut my hair," she twirled a lock of her short shiny brown hair absently.

Remy looked at her, "sometimes when I was an X-Man…" he sighed, "I got sick of livin' up to what everyone else expected of me, it was hard to remember where the real me ended and the goody-two-shoes me began," he admitted, he closed the refrigerator.  

"I guess that means you won't be joining us again then?" Kitty asked.

Remy gave a very distinctive shake of his head, no was definitely the answer, Kitty felt slightly disappointed.  Remy recomposed himself from his morose attitude, "anyway, I'm gonna make us dinner – don't worry, no meat, I know you're a vegetarian.  But it'll be spicy, so prepare yourself," he grinned.

Kitty smirked a little, a trace of the old Remy LeBeau beginning to show through in him again and it was comforting, she watched him as he began to prepare the food, she realised this might be a good time to thank him for his hospitality – however uncomfortable staying in the apartment was.

"I…really appreciate this you know," Kitty admitted softly, she reached out and touched his back gently.  "One day I'll make it up to you."

Remy stopped for a moment, and he glanced over his shoulder at her, "you already have – by not having told Rogue or anyone about what I told you," he reminded, he turned towards her, wiping his hands off on a dishtowel – he'd been rinsing off some green peppers in the sink.

She stood on her tiptoes to hug him – as he was considerably much taller than herself – her arms wrapped around his neck, she felt his surprise at this, but felt his arms wrap gingerly around her almost as if he was afraid she was perhaps to frail to take the pressure of his arms.  It felt good to be hugged by him – the scent of his cologne, faint perspiration and nicotine overwhelmed her, as did the warmth of his body.

Remy felt rather awkward holding her, she was vulnerable and over emotional, and he'd been able to see it etched on her face just before she'd put her arms around his neck to hold onto him.  And somehow, he knew what was going to happen even before it did, but his response time wasn't quick enough to prevent it – her lips had found his, catching him in a very unwelcome kiss.  

Despite he'd predicted it milliseconds before it had occurred, it still caught him completely off guard as if it had been unexpected.  His thoughts screamed at him.  The part of him that needed affection wanted him to carry on letting her kiss him, but the other part of him – the part that was distraught – reminded him Kitty was his friend, the ONLY friend he had.  And friendships always became undone by things such as this.  His skin prickled under the touch of her bare fingers upon his neck, and he felt himself shivering uncontrollably as her lips moved softly against his.

He pushed her away from him in a careful way, he didn't want to seem angry with her, or disgusted by what she'd just done.

Kitty noticed the few small sparks of blue light that seemed to jump from his skin so fast she was barely sure she'd really seen it.  She chose not dwell on that, the sudden realisation of what she had just done seemed to slap her in the face with a harshness.  Had she really just kissed him?  She felt her cheeks redden, and she put her hands to her mouth, "Oh my god," she whispered.  "Oh my god, oh my god," she was nearly to the point of tears again.

Remy put his hands up as if he were trying to defend himself, "its not that I don't want to," he said quickly, his accent seemed to become thicker with the stress of trying to explain himself.  "I'm just…I'm not…I mean…"

Kitty looked at him, the shock of what she had done taken over by his response, "huh?"

"I mean…I'm not attracted to you," Remy finished, he stepped back, hoping to god he wasn't about to be slapped, "not that you're not attractive…" he added very quickly.

Kitty rubbed her forehead, "that wasn't meant to happen," she groaned, she chewed so hard into her lip it was close to bleeding.

Remy agreed, "yeah."

Kitty put her hands to her eyes, "I just…god I don't know, I don't know why I did that…" she lamented, and it was true, she didn't.  She had no clue.  She wasn't particularly interested in Remy as anything more than a friend, and although the man was beyond extremely good looking with his rugged features and those incredible ebony and ruby eyes of his, she had never been attracted to him in the way most other woman found themselves to be.  "God, I'm so sorry…that was the most insensitive thing I could have done…" she said.

Remy ran his fingers through his hair absently, "its not your fault," he reminded, "You're mournin'…who knows why it happened, maybe you just…unconsciously reached out for some kind of affection?" he shrugged, "I don't know, I'm not a psychologist…"

Kitty turned, "I need…to…uhm…get out of the kitchen now…" she said quickly.

Remy nodded swiftly, "yeah, good idea…too many cooks spoil the broth as they say," he feigned a grin, and watched her go, feeling relief surge through him when she was out of the room, but he distinctly heard herself call herself stupid from the living room.  

"Stupid stupid stupid."


	4. Chapter 4: Dinner at LeBeau's

Dismal Angel 2010 - Episode 4

Chapter 4:  Dinner at LeBeau's

             Kitty stepped into the living room wearing some thick flannel and quite unattractive pyjamas.  She'd gone for a shower while Remy had been cooking.  Remy had set dinner on the coffee table since he didn't own a dining table in the apartment.  Kitty sat on couch, "why is it so dark in here?" she asked, noticing that a few candles were lit around the room, however, the overhead light was off, and the small lamp on the crate was off.

             "Guess who forgot to buy lightbulbs," Remy rolled his eyes, "the overhead light just blew, and that lamp needs a new plug," he sighed, "domestic life is just so not my style."

             "If you joined the X-Men you wouldn't have to put up with that," Kitty reminded, she was glad the room was only bathed in candle light, as it meant that he couldn't see how red her face was from the embarrassment of her kissing him an hour earlier.  

             Remy was sitting on the floor folded legged, at the coffee table facing the couch, he had already started to eat.

             "So…what is this anyway?" Kitty asked gesturing to the plate.

             "You could call it a vegetable stirfry if you want," Remy responded, he took a sip from a nearby can of beer, "there's beer there if you want some," he gestured to the remaining five cans from the six pack that was sitting on the couch near Kitty.

             Kitty picked up her fork, she wasn't all that hungry, but since there had been some effort involved in Remy's cooking – an hour of his valuable time – she decided to put in her own effort and try to eat even a little.  "I'm really sorry about earlier," she said sheepishly.

             "I know.  Don't think about it, its water off a ducks ass," he shrugged, and continued eating, "your phone was ringing while you were in the shower," he said, "I didn't answer it but it was pretty persistent, probably one of the X-Men wanting to make sure you're alright," he pointed to her cellular phone which was sitting on the crate beside the couch.

             Kitty put a forkful of the spicy vegetables into her mouth, feigning an expression of delight at the flavour while secretly wondering how anyone could eat something so spicy.  She reached over and picked up her cellular phone, she checked the last number, "it was Kurt – calling from his cellphone," she added, she winced at the stinging of her tongue, and she reached over, grabbed a can of beer from the pack, yanked the tab open and took a large drink to sooth it.

             "So you and Kurt still an item?" Remy asked casually.

             Kitty put the can on the table, and continued to eat her food in very small bites, "sometimes and sometimes not…last time we broke up we said it'd be for good," she said, "but every time we break up it doesn't mess up our friendship – thankfully," she said, "Kurt's one of the best friends anyone could ask for," Kitty admitted.

             Remy nodded, understanding, but he didn't say a word, he just continued to eat silently.

             "He's my back up," Kitty said in a very casual but sudden way.

             Remy raised an eyebrow, "what do you mean?"

             "Haven't you ever heard of that tradition, where two friends – a guy and a girl – will make a pact that if they're still unmarried by the time they're a certain age, that the two of them will get married?  Kurt is my back up."

             "That's kind of sad," Remy admitted, "you'd marry him as a last resort?"

             Kitty shrugged, "I guess, I mean I really do love him and we have a great relationship…" she admitted, "it'd be great for both of us."

             "What if you did and then the one you're meant to be with suddenly came out of the blue?" Remy pointed out.

             "I…don't know," Kitty shrugged, "isn't that what divorce is for?" she joked.

             Remy smirked a little "divorce is a seven letter blessing," he stated quite matter of factly.

             "Is that so?" Kitty raised an eyebrow now, she took a small bite, then a quick sip of beer, "did you ever get divorced from that French chick?" Kitty asked softly.

             Remy nodded, "Oh yeah," he said, "was pretty hard to do that while I had the law chasin' me for manslaughter," he added bitterly.

             "Did you ever get married again?" Kitty asked.

             Remy looked at Kitty, his expression very dark for a moment, "gotta find love before you get married, petit," he answered, his voice quite dry.

             Kitty felt the tension in the room rise, "and…you never did?" she asked.

             Remy gave a shrug, she took this to be no.

             Kitty took a small bite of her food, "did you ever really love Rogue?" she asked.

             Remy gave a snort and looked at her as if to ask 'what do YOU think'.  Kitty felt foolish for having asked, she'd always known the answer, and had no idea why she'd asked.  "They say…you never forget your first love," Remy spoke rather bitterly, "its true."

             Kitty looked at him, she felt sympathy building within herself for him.  She was the one dealing with the loss of both of her parents and he was the one she felt sad for – not herself.

             "No one else compares…" Remy whispered, "no woman's kiss is good enough, no womans touch can satisfy…" he frowned, "and I hate it."

             Kitty just watched him, she put her fork down, keeping her eyes on him all the while, she was glad of this subject, for it took her mind off of her parents temporarily.

             "If I could forget about her, I would…and bein' at the mansion with her…always reminded day and night how much better life seemed when I was with her…it kills me."

             "If you could be with her again, would you?" Kitty asked, sipping her beer.

             "No," Remy stood up, he picked up his plate to take it to the kitchen, no longer hungry.

             "You wouldn't?!" Kitty gaped, "But you love her!"

             "Life in love with Rogue is hell, Kitty.  Never knowin' when the next thing I'll do is going to fuck both of us up, or never knowin' if she completely accepts me, and how can I just suddenly forget she made statements to the police about me, not just for murder but for being a thief, I couldn't even go back to New Orleans after that," he said.  "I ain't been able to go home in seven years cos of that woman," he said, "and no amount of love I have for the woman could allow me to forgive her, just like no amount of love she had for me would let her forgive me for sleepin' with Bella Donna or never tellin' her about Carol Danvers…or forgivin' me for any of the other thousands of mistakes I made in her eyes."

             Kitty followed him, "that was all in the past, Remy."

             "And I want to forget the fucking past!" Remy threw the plate of food to the wall, it shattered, spraying vegetables upon the floor, "I've spent seven years trying to forget about it!"

             Kitty winced at the noise, and his behaviour.  Those mood swings were getting worse, "calm down."

             "It's easy for you to say calm down, Kitty!" Remy yelled at her, "you're not the one who has to live in this fucking disgusting apartment, or the one who has to live in secret under several different aliases, keeping a low profile, havin' to jump from city to city once the fucking police find out your whereabouts!  Livin' day and night with the fact that you're guilty of fucking manslaughter!" he yelled at her, "And always wonderin' when the police are just around the corner!"

             Kitty looked at him, "don't talk to me like that!" she said, "I could do without bein' an outlet for you to yell at, Remy!  I've just lost my parents to a fire!" she felt her tears burning in her eyes.

             Remy quietened down, he looked away, his expression still angry, his breathing fast.

             "Have you taken your medication today?" Kitty demanded.

             "What does it matter," he uttered, "Nothing helps," he rubbed his forehead, a headache beginning to build up, "I'm sorry, I'm being an ass…you're right, you have more right to be upset than I am…" he took his hand away from his forehead.

             "This isn't about who has more right to be upset, Remy," Kitty said, "this is about not taking our problems out on other people," she pointed out, she walked over and put her hands on his shoulders, "take your medication and stop being so negative."

             "That's the whole point of manic depression," Remy rolled his eyes, "you see everything as negative."

             "Well its about time you stopped, Remy," Kitty felt incredibly frustrated with the conversation, she had her own worries and mourning, she could do without having to drill Remy about being positive when she couldn't even be positive herself.  "I don't want to argue, I could do without it," she said.

             Her phone, which was now sitting on the coffee table in the living room, had begun to ring again, she sighed, "that'll be Kurt," she said softly and left the room.  She sat down on the couch, picked the phone up and answered, "hello."

             "Finally, an answer!" Kurt's voice replied, he sounded relieved, "what's going on…why are you in Illinois?!" he sounded frantic all of a sudden, but Kitty could tell it was only his convern, "are you okay?"

             As always, when someone was on the verge of tears, the last thing they needed to be asked was 'are you okay'.  Tears burst forthwith, and she dropped the phone, it landed softly on the worn dark green carpet.  

             Remy had been watching from the kitchen, he walked in, moved over, picked up the phone, "Kurt…right now isn't a good time for you to be calling," he sighed.

             "Why are you two in Illinois?" Kurt sounded quite suspicious and severe to Remy, Remy had no time for his impatience.

             "I'll have her call you back," Remy hung up on Kurt, and tossed the phone aside, he sat beside Kitty, and put his hand on her arm, he didn't have to ask if she was alright, because he could see she clearly wasn't. 

             Kitty rested her head on her arm and sobbed as if her heart was breaking, her sobs were the only noise in the quiet apartment, Remy pulled her into a half hug, and let her cry until she fell asleep against his chest, everything finally falling silent.


	5. Chapter 5: Covered Mirrors

Dismal Angel 2010 - Episode 4

Chapter 5: Covered Mirrors

It was a few days later Remy LeBeau stepped through the door of the beautiful suburban house that belonged to Kitty's older cousin Lucy Gutman, his presence barely noted by the dozens of people dressed in black who stood in small groups and talked in hushed voices. 

Kitty hadn't asked him to come to the funeral, she'd insisted on going alone although he hadn't been able to stick with this decision, and so he'd tailed her silently, and he'd managed to creep into the service and remain unnoticed.  He admired how well she held herself together.

The house inside was lavishly furnished, the complete opposite of his own drab apartment.  Colourful walls and carpets, plush sofas and chairs, fine antique furnishings.  He kept his head low as to not let his eyes distract anyone from their mourning, and passed down a small hallway, glancing down into a kitchen, Kitty was standing talking to her cousin.

Kitty looked strange in all black, a long black pin stripe skirt hanging down to her ankles, a simple black blouse and a black cardigan pulled around herself for warmth, she held a tissue in one hand, her eyes slightly puffy as if she'd been crying again.

Remy watched her for some time, and then wandered around a little more seeing that she was busy.  His presence still unnoticed.  He found it odd that every mirror in the house was covered with large sheets of paper, it was slightly unnerving.

"Remy…what are you doing here?" he heard Kitty's voice, she sounded choked up and he turned to look at her, her eyes were red, yes, she'd definitely been crying again.

"I…just wanted to check up on you I guess," Remy shoved his hands in the pockets of his black pants, "how are you holding up?"

Kitty gave a shrug, "I just buried my parents," she said softly, her eyes went glassy.

Remy winced, it had been a stupid question really, he put his hand on her shoulder to comfort her.

             "How did you know where to find me?  I didn't tell you where I'd be…" Kitty said softly.

             "You know me, I'm the best sneak around," Remy smiled.

"Excuse me, who is this?" came a sharp flustered voice that sounded amazingly like Kitty.

Remy glanced over Kitty's shoulder, a slightly older and taller girl with dark curly hair and a slightly large nose was looking at Kitty disdainfully.  The girl was almost the spitting image of Kitty, if her eyes had not been hazel and her hair had not been so curly.  

"Lucy…this is my friend, the one I've been staying with," Kitty feigned a smile and gestured towards Remy.

"What's he doing here, he didn't know your parents!" Lucy seemed a little agitated.  "We agreed only close friends and family would be permitted here at this time!" she sounded practically frantic and overwhelmed.

Remy felt like slapping the girl, Kitty didn't need to be scolded at her own parents funeral, "actually, yes I did," Remy lied, and quite well, "I was out the last time Kitty visited them," he stated calmly, he put his arm around Kitty's shoulders in a protective way, now he understood why Kitty had been reluctant to speak up for herself.  "Could you excuse us please, we were having a private discussion," he said, and gave Lucy an expression that said 'leave us alone'.  

Lucy threw Remy a look of contempt, and sauntered off to busy herself with other more important matters.

Remy felt Kitty's shoulders raise as she sighed, he looked down to her, "she's…some piece of work," he admitted.

"Tell me about it," Kitty drabbed at the corner of her eyes with her tissue.

"What's with the mirrors?" Remy asked, gesturing to a large mirror behind them covered with a large sheet of paper.

"It's a Jewish thing," Kitty grumbled, "Its so that people who're mourning aren't distracted with their appearance," she said, "there's also this weird belief that the dead get trapped in the mirror something," Kitty explained quickly, all in one breath, her eyes slightly widening, "I'm goin' crazy…I can't tell how I look."

"You look fine," Remy assured, "just fine."

Kitty leaned into him, "I want all this to be over, Remy," she groaned tearfully, her head resting against his hard shoulder.

"It will be…" he assured sounding rather confident, he patted her shoulder comfortingly.

"How long did it take you to get over Gabrielle's death?" Kitty asked quite seriously, she turned and looked at him desperately, those sapphire blue eyes of her seemed to burn right into him.

Remy's handsome tanned face seemed to go pale for a time, his eyes glazed, he looked as if he might be a million miles away and mixed in his own thoughts.  His answer came, what could only be described as delayed. "I…don't remember," he mumbled softly.  And this was the last he spoke of it.

             Rogue stared out of the window distantly, it had been days, four days, and not a word from Kitty – nor Remy.  She'd expect this kind of behaviour from Remy LeBeau of course, but Kitty?  Thoughtful Kitty who always had the consideration to let people how where she was, what she was doing, and how she was feeling? 

             "Four days!" Rogue complained, Ororo Munro was curled up on a chair in the living room flicking through a book, "four days and not a phone call or nothing," Rogue scowled.

             Ororo glanced up from her pages, her blue eyes quizzical, "hmm?" she asked softly.

             "Kitty…she's been gone for four days…four days with that swamp rat and she hasn't even called or anything, I just don't get it," Rogue frowned, she walked over to the couch and dropped into the middle seat, folding her arms stubbornly in a childish manner. 

             "Kurt did say he spoke briefly with Kitty," Ororo reminded, "I believe he said she sounded like she had begin to cry – then Gambit picked up the phone and cut him off."

             "When was that?" Rogue sat up straight.

             "The first day they were gone," Ororo replied, she tucked a lock of her silvery hair behind her ear, "maybe the reason they are in Illinois is personal, Rogue," Ororo tried to reason, "after all, it is unlike Kitty, and I see no other reason why she would rush off without telling us."

             Rogue sighed, "I just…I can't help thinking they're up to something, that they're running off to get married or something crazy…" Rogue tapped her fingers on her elbows distractingly, "Its driving me insane."

             "Do you still care for Gambit?" Ororo asked in a tone that was neither accusing or nosy.  Rogue felt her temper flare however when this was asked.

             "Why does everyone keep asking me that?" she demanded, "that part of my life is over, I don't care for him!"

             "Rogue, please," Ororo gave an expression that reminded Rogue of the days of when Ororo was her instructor.  "You do not need to get so angry whenever someone asks you this, I realise it must be frustrating, but you must expect it, you and Remy have a history, albeit a brief history in your youth, and people will always be curious," she reminded.

             Rogue sighed and pulled herself up, "I'm going out," she said, tossing her hair, "I don't know when I'll be back," she uttered, and with that, left the mansion in a huff.

             Remy and Kitty entered Remy's apartment building together, the air was cold and bitter now, and it outside it seemed as if it might rain soon.   Kitty had been quiet – which was unusual for Kitty who sometimes found it impossible to stop talking once she started.  Remy gathered there wasn't much else Kitty could say right now, she'd just buried her parents, she needed some peace and he didn't want to disturb her with questions of how she was feeling or if she might be hungry or tired.

             They walked silently up the staircase, Kitty holding her breath to avoid the smell of cat urine suffocating her senses, when they finally approached the second floor, Remy's door was wide open, the apartment inside dark.

             "What the…" Remy's voice was very low.

             Kitty frowned, "you didn't lock the door?"

             "The door locks itself when you close it," Remy mumbled, he reached into the pocket of his trenchcoat and he pulled out his Bo-staff, "be on your guard," he whispered.

             Kitty followed him carefully, she dared not even breathe in case it was too loud.  It was obvious someone had been, when Remy flicked the light on in the living room, the boxes that had once been stacked against the wall were now strewn everywhere, the Television was smashed and the couch was turned upside down, the coffee table, overturned.  Remy gave the apartment a quick look over, making sure no intruders were still inside, and he closed the front door.

             Kitty knelt down by one of the boxes, the DVD player that it contained still in place, it hadn't been touched, none of the merchandise had been taken.  A strange thing for someone to have broken in and left thousands of dollars worth of merchandise in the apartment, "It doesn't look like anything has been stolen, Remy…" Kitty admitted, she got up.

             Remy nudged one of the boxes with his bo-staff, he didn't seem particularly surprised, but agitation was evident on his face.  He looked over the whole room with his eyes, his expression growing angrier by the second.  He moved the couch aside and pulled the edge of the carpet up, revealing wooden floorboards underneath.  He pulled a few of the boards up completely, "fuck…" he whispered.  

             "What is it?  Is something missing?" Kitty asked worriedly.

             The sound of police sirens were approaching outside, Remy rushed to the window, and peered out, "Fuck, the police are coming," he said.

             "The police!"

             "There's forty thousand dollars worth of stolen equipment in this place!" Remy rushed to the bedroom Kitty had been in, yanked a closet open and pulled out a rucksack, he began to stuff clothes into it.  "Not to mention I'm on the fucking run for manslaughter!" he hissed.

             Kitty looked at him, "where are we going to go?"

             "We're gonna get out of here, as soon as possible," Remy said hastily, he pulled the rucksack onto his shoulder.  "Grab your bag, quickly."

             "Who called the police?" Kitty wondered, she picked up her bag, feeling thankful she hadn't really unpacked anything.

             "Probably that old bitch with the cats, probably heard the noise of whoever broke in," Remy grabbed a hold of Kitty's arm, "c'mon!" the sirens had stopped, the police were probably already on their way into the building.  Remy headed straight for the stairs up to the third floor, yanking Kitty along, "Keep up!" he hissed.

             Kitty kept running with him, "why do I have to run?!" she demanded quietly as she tried to quicken her pace.

             "Cat lady saw you with me, duh," Remy muttered, they began up the staircase to the fourth floor, then up to the fifth, then to the sixth.

             "How many floors are there," Kitty asked breathlessly.

             "Nineteen," Remy breathed, still running, he could hear footsteps approaching, he reached into the pocket of his trenchcoat and pulled out a playing card, leaned slightly over the banister of the seventh floor landing, he charged up the card and threw it with some force towards the staircase, the impact causing the kinetic energy of the card to explode the staircase, "that should slow them down," he drew his breath, he took the stairs three at a time, still running, Kitty still following.  They both made their way to the roof for a hasty escape.


	6. Chapter 6: Nowhere to Run

Dismal Angel 2010 - Episode 4

Chapter 6: Nowhere to Run

They approached the roof, Remy looked around, the buildings were too far apart to make the jump across without instant death.  It was something he'd be willing to risk – but Kitty on the other hand would have no chance of making that jump even if he could.

"Where to?" Kitty panted, pain from the stairway run searing through her legs, sweat streaming down her face, she was physically fit but nothing could have prepared her for a run up nineteen flights of stairs.  

Remy rushed to the edge of the building, there was only one way down, a fire escape.  "Over here," he said, he jumped over the edge landing onto the fire escape about seven feet below, his feet made a loud clang against the metal.  Kitty climbed down carefully.

"Hurry!" Remy hissed, "no time for being careful," he said, he began to run down the stairs, no longer did he have the option to use stealth like in his criminal activities, this was one time that being perfectly silent wasn't going to help.  They rushed, the noise on the unbalanced fire escape increasing as they went faster.

Kitty was panting, "I can't believe you made us go all the way up to the top floor just to come down the fucking fire escape!" she gasped.

"Like you had a better plan!" Remy kept running, he was breathless and even though it was dark Kitty could tell his face was red and sweaty.  Kitty winced, "my legs are hurting, Remy!" she groaned.

"We don't have time to hurt!  Just run!" they were almost at the bottom of the fire escape, rain began to pelt down viciously from the sky.  Kitty could see the lights of the police cars near the bottom just outside the alley way, she could hear police radios, and people talking loudly.

"Remy I don't think we're gonna make it," Kitty gasped, struggling with the pain in her legs, her breath quick and uneven.

"Yes we are!" Remy leapt down from the fire escape as they finally reached the bottom, he helped Kitty down, he crept down the alley way and peered out, there were five police cars.  "Fuck," he whispered, "they must have got a description in…" he decided there could be no other reason five police cars would be sent for a mere break in. 

Kitty held onto his arm, "there's so many cops…" she gaped, "how are we going to get through?" she asked tentatively.

Remy reached into his pocket and pulled out a card, beginning to charge it, he was about to aim it for the nearest car.

"Wait!" Kitty grabbed a hold of Remy's hand, "If you throw that at one of those cars it could explode!" Kitty said, "I mean SERIOUSLY explode, and cause a fire…" she looked at him with wide frightened eyes.  "You don't want to be accused of killing anyone else, do you!?!" she demanded impatiently.

Remy groaned, "what else are we meant to do!?  There's nowhere to run!" he growled at her.

"There he is!" came an unknown mans voice, followed by a cacophony of "stop! Police!" and various other comments Kitty and Remy didn't have much time to listen for.  They'd been spotted, and now were being approached quickly.

Kitty's head was pounding, her heart was thudding rapidly, her legs were aching and they were surrounded in moments in the small alleyway.  Remy, who had still been carrying his bo-staff, swung it at the nearest cop, causing him to fall over with a domino effect on three of them, he ducked out of the way as a cop made a run for him.  Kitty grabbed Remy's sleeve, "This way!" she phased them both through the nearest wall, they ended up back in the front lobby of the apartment building, unfortunately where there were more police were.

"Leave the planning to me next time," Remy groaned, looking around them, he stared left and right, as if he were quickly assessing the situation or looking for possible exits.  He saw none.  

"That's him!  That's the bastard!" the cat woman was coming down the stairs holding two of her cats, her wiry hair hanging out of her hat, her eyes wide with anger, she pointed a knarled finger at Remy.

Remy noticed the amount of guns that were suddenly raised into the air, all pointing at him ominously, "guns…guns…" he chided, "how fair, I have a bo-staff, and they have guns…" he mumbled.  "In a fair fight you guys wouldn't stand a chance."

"Shut up, LeBeau," a cop muttered in a growl.  "Hands on your head, now!"

"Watch out, he's a mutant," another cop bellowed, "he can explode things with his hands! – I read his file!  Looks like he can walk through walls too!"

Remy dropped the bo-staff and placed his hands on his head, already a plan was forming in his mind.  He glanced towards Kitty.  The first part of his plan was to get her out of harms way.  Luckily the cops seemed to have misunderstood the situation of how they had gotten through the wall – they were assuming Remy was the one with the powers, not Kitty.  This was quite opportune.

Kitty's head was pounding so badly she could barely see anything, her vision blurred, her legs ached so much she felt as if she would collapse.  "What now?" she groaned.

Remy stepped forward slowly, he noted the cops took a more defensive stance, readying their weapons.  "What else is there to do, Petit…" he looked over his shoulder at Kitty, "there's nowhere to run…I gotta turn myself in.  I'm a wanted man, remember?  I can't run forever."

"But you didn't murder Jared!" Kitty gaped, "we can prove it!"

"Stand against the wall, miss," a cop instructed of Kitty, he pointed a gun at her, he looked rather warningly at her.

Remy looked at Kitty, "stop arguing and just do as you're told…" he said, cops approached him, slapping handcuffs on him behind his back.  He didn't look as scared as he had before, in fact he looked calmer than Kitty had ever seen him in her life.

Kitty looked at him, "you are not turning yourself in!  Remy! You're a mutant, you can fight these guys!  I've seen you do it a hundred times!" Kitty was gaping incredulously, she couldn't believe he would just give himself up like this.

Remy looked at her, "don't worry about me," he feigned a smile, a smile that told her suddenly she didn't have anything to worry about, Remy was a master thief, and he probably had ways of escaping.  Right now, she realised Remy intended her escape to be first.

"Stand facing against the wall," a cop clamped a hand on Kitty's shoulder.

Kitty moved towards the wall.

"Frisk her, make sure she's not concealing any weapons," one of the cops ordered.

Kitty glanced guiltily over her shoulder at Remy once before she phased herself through it, dropping into the alley way again, she ran, keeping herself phased, she ran across the street to another building, she was still carrying her bag, as she ran she pulled out her cellular phone and switched it on.

"Time to call the X-Men," she breathed as she kept running.  She could hear the police hot in pursuit, one of them had gotten in a car, she could hear it approaching fast.  She couldn't run fast enough to escape it.

She tried to dial and pressed the call button, but it gave a strange static-sound and switched itself off, her powers had caused it to short out.

"Not another one," she groaned, she realised the best thing she could do for now, was find somewhere to hide until the police cleared out, then she could call the X-Men for assistance using a payphone.

With a sigh, she phased herself down into a sewer and through the nearest sewer wall finding herself in another tunnel.  She heard the sirens of the police car stop and she waited.

God why am I even running I didn't do anything, she thought despairingly, she listened, she heard a sewer grating being opened, and she heard splashes as the feet of cops in the next tunnel landed down in the sewers, she heard voices.

"Check that way!" a cop called, Kitty pressed her ear against the cold damp wall and listened, waiting silently, she phased her ear slightly closer into the wall to listen to what the cops were saying.

"We've lost her," one of the cops seemed to realise later, "I checked all through these tunnels…no sigh of her…its like she just evaporated," he sounded gruff.

Kitty frowned, "no, just phased," she whispered to herself.

She heard the sounds of heavy boots upon the ladder leading back up to the street, then the loud slam of the sewer grating being closed.  They were gone.

Kitty realised it was best to sit tight, and she and waited for a while, sitting on top of her bag, shivering, hugging herself, listening to the traffic above and the dripping of dampness in the sewer tunnel.  There was no light to see and nothing to do but think.  

She couldn't understand why Remy just handed himself over in that way, why hadn't he run, if he'd reached out and took her arm she could have phased them both out of harms way, but he'd let himself be caught.  She wondered if already he'd made his escape and was trying to find her.  He hadn't given much indication about what his plan was – she only knew that judging by the look on his face there had been a plan.

Kitty frowned slightly, she pressed her finger against the button that illuminated her watch, she'd been waiting an hour when she finally decided it was time to leave.  She made her way back up to the street, now smelling quite badly of sewer water, and feeling quite disgusting.  She pulled a quarter out of her bag and put it into the nearest payphone, keeping a watch out over the dark street, she dialled the number of the Professors office, and was thankful when she got a hasty reply.

"Charles Xavier speaking."

"Professor, oh my god," Kitty sobbed over the phone, "am I glad to hear your voice," she said, her sob rather in relief than remorse, "I'm kind of stranded in Illinois…Remy got caught by the police…I got chased, I had to hide out…I don't know where they took him…" Kitty spoke quickly, then took large long pauses to breathe, she wiped her tears on the back of her grimy hand, making her face even dirtier than it was to begin with.

"Calm down," the professor soothed, "where are you."

Kitty relayed her location, the Professor assured her someone would be arriving via blackbird to pick her up as soon as possible.

"What about Remy?" Kitty asked.

"I will do all in my power to find out just as much as I can," The professor promised, "keep yourself well hidden until the blackbird arrives, understand? There may still be police patrols in the area," he said wisely.

Kitty sighed, "yes, Professor…"

Kitty slipped back into the sewers silently, and waited until Scott Summers and Jean Grey arrived in the blackbird to pick her up.  As she dropped into a seat in the jet exhaustedly, the first thing she asked was "did the professor find Remy?"

Jean was sitting in the co-pilots seat, she glanced over her shoulder, "I'm afraid not…all we could find out was shortly after he was apprehended he got away…but we haven't been able to trace him…its as if he doesn't want to be found…"

Kitty rubbed her forehead, "terrific…" she dabbed at the tears in the corner of her eyes, this had been the most hellish four days of her life, and this day was probably the worst of all, first the funeral, and then running from the police, and now Remy suddenly missing, having escaped from the Police.

"You look exhausted, Kitty," Jean said sympathetically.

Kitty paused for a moment, "why didn't he come and find me…" she asked, she stared out of the window, "Remy is smart, he must have realised the first place I'd hide…he must have…why…" 

"Maybe he just wanted to get away from the X-Men altogether," Scott said, "wouldn't be the first time he disappeared on us.

Kitty sighed, Scott was right.  Remy had been talking about wanting to forget his past, it seemed probable this is why he'd had chosen to not come looking for Kitty – so he could escape from the X-Men altogether and therefore, never be reminded of his past by them.  But Kitty didn't feel comforted by that at all, the fact that the man was alone out there somewhere with only a bottle of lithium as company was the most un-reassuring thing on her mind.  Other things began to play around in her mind, who had been in Remy's apartment, and what had Remy been looking for under the floorboards?  Kitty couldn't help but feel suddenly that something wasn't quite right.  

             I'll find him, Kitty vowed to herself tiredly, she closed her eyes to shut out the light that was making her head throb more intently.  Once I've gotten back to the mansion and feel a bit better, I'll find him and help him…he shouldn't be out there alone…

             Kitty frowned slightly as she wondered if perhaps she thought this because she was worried for his sanity and his health, or if it was because she was worried that he was up to no good.  Pushing those thoughts aside she closed her eyes, and drifted off into an uneasy sleep. 

- The end (or is it? Mwahahahahahahahahahahahahah)


End file.
